Jamie I.F. talks about what it was like losing $80K a month in affiliate revenue, rebuilding from the ground up, and what keyword research really looks like in the age of AI.

He is a former affiliate SEO who once scaled to $80,000 per month before the HCU update brought that down to nearly zero. Now, Jamie focuses on building software for SEOs and other niches. One of his tools, Answer Socrates, helps bloggers generate thousands of topic ideas and cluster them into organized groups so they can focus on the fun part: writing. By leveraging SEO, Jamie has grown the tool to over 100K monthly users and has also found creative ways to drive traffic through platforms like Reddit.

Jamie shares the wild ride from skyrocketing affiliate earnings to starting over after Google’s updates. He teaches us how to approach keyword research differently in the AI era, how Reddit is reshaping SEO, and why feelings, not just facts, win traffic today.

Key points discussed include:

Affiliate highs and lows: One decision brought in $80K a month, but it all disappeared overnight, showing how fragile affiliate-heavy models have become in today’s SEO world.

Products over pure info: Relying only on informational content is riskier than ever, but turning expertise into products can safeguard your business from AI scrapers and shifting algorithms.

Keyword depth wins: Ranking for just one keyword is no longer enough, and covering a range of related subtopics builds the topical authority needed to compete.

Clustering made simple: Grouping hundreds of keywords into meaningful clusters makes it easier to plan content strategically without drowning in data.

AI overviews explained: Google and ChatGPT pull from multiple sources, and structuring content clearly increases the chances of being featured in those summaries.

Reddit power: Reddit now dominates search results, and thoughtful participation can drive traffic, spark PR coverage, and strengthen brand visibility.

Make people feel: Optimization helps, but content that stirs emotion keeps readers engaged and loyal even when AI-generated summaries crowd the search results.

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